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Review
. 2021 Jun:300:113916.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113916. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Impact and consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on complicated grief and persistent complex bereavement disorder

Francesca Diolaiuti  1 , Donatella Marazziti  2 , Maria Francesca Beatino  1 , Federico Mucci  3 , Andrea Pozza  4
Affiliations
Review

Impact and consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on complicated grief and persistent complex bereavement disorder

Francesca Diolaiuti et al. Psychiatry Res. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Mourning is a coping-with-loss stage that prevents grief from becoming pathologic, i.e., complicated grief (CG) syndrome and persistent complex bereavement disorder (PCBD), recently included in international classification systems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, to contain virus spread, several countries adopted/adopt the prohibition of mourning rituals (funeral ceremonies/visiting to cemeteries), so that people were/are unable to give their hospitalized relatives the latest goodbye. Such measures can lead vulnerable individuals to develop CG and PCBD. We critically discuss literature-based risk factors for and protective resources against the onset of these conditions since the start of the pandemic and analyze prevention strategies to inform public health programs.

Keywords: COVID-19; Complicated grief; Persistent complex bereavement disorder.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

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